(2025). Determinants of Higher Education Quality in Afghanistan's Higher Education Sector: Insights from Students' Perceptions. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, v17 n1 p123-138. Purpose: The fundamental purpose of this study is to analyse the determinants of higher education quality in Afghanistan based on insights from student perceptions. Understanding this part holds paramount importance in enunciating sound policies for the smooth functioning of the higher education sector of Afghanistan. Design/methodology/approach: This study aims to classify students' background and demographic data, distinguishing their perception of higher education quality using a deductive research approach. A sample of 418 students from five top private universities in Afghanistan was chosen to assess their perceptions of higher education dimensions by employing a multinomial regression analysis. Findings: The findings indicate that extracurricular activities, students' scholarship status, parents' education, age, previous academic results and the university they attend significantly impact their perception of the quality of higher education. Practical implications: This research… [Direct]
(2023). Analysis of Discourses in the Islamic World about the Ban upon Women's Education by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Issues in Educational Research, v33 n3 p1148-1160. The women's education ban in Afghanistan is a vital issue for people in the country and also a challenging issue for the Islamic world. The researcher used critical discourse analysis to analyse the mediated discourses in the Islamic world regarding the women's education ban in Afghanistan. An online search was applied by using key terms and headings such as "girls deprived from education in Afghanistan"; "women education ban in Afghanistan"; "women education bans by the Taliban in Afghanistan"; and "the ongoing discourses in the Islamic world regarding the women education ban in Afghanistan". A total of 62 articles were recorded, and after the exclusion of duplicated and irrelevant articles, 20 news articles were selected, reviewed, coded, and analysed. The Foucauldian viewpoint was adopted to consider the relationship between discourse and power, and the three-dimensional model of Fairclough (1993) was applied to guide the critical discourse… [Direct]
(2024). Measures to Motivate Teachers in Afghanistan: A Proposal. Asia Pacific Education Review, v25 n5 p1227-1243. This study focused on job satisfaction and motivation factors of schoolteachers from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Primary survey data from 378 teachers in Kabul were used in a randomized conjoint experiment to measure the causal effects of the proposed motivation policy's relevant attributes on teachers' satisfaction. The suggested hypothetical motivation policy comprised salary, number of classes per day, number of students per class, work desk, teacher training, and residential plot. We found that a higher than the current salary, a residential plot, and having fewer than 20 students per class and only three classes per day contributed to teachers' job satisfaction. The proposed teacher motivation policy was widely endorsed by the sample…. [Direct]
(2022). Barriers and Facilitators to Providing Assistive Technologies to Children with Disabilities in Afghanistan. UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti Due to the impacts of the ongoing conflict, Afghanistan's child population is at high risk of being born with or acquiring a primary or secondary disability. According to a recent estimate, up to 17% of Afghanistan's children live with some form of disability. Assistive Technologies — the systems, services and products that enhance the functioning of people with impairments — are likely to be required by a large proportion of children with disabilities in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which includes a commitment to provide assistive technologies equitably to all who need it. However, little action has been taken to meet this commitment, and there continues to be a vast gap between need and provision. This work presents the the barriers and facilitators to provision and provides recommendations to begin to close the gap…. [PDF]
(2022). TVET Country Profile: Afghanistan. UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training The UNESCO-UNEVOC TVET Country Profiles are an online service. They aim to provide concise, reliable and up-to-date information on TVET systems worldwide, including key statistical data which can be compared across countries, major TVET policy documents, and information on governance of TVET. Dynamic diagrams illustrate education systems at a glance, aligned with ISCED levels…. [PDF]
(2023). Teachers' Perspective on Accountability: A Comparative Case Study in Primary Rural Schools of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Research in Comparative and International Education, v18 n4 p569-599. Education in Afghanistan and Pakistan is characterised by indicators showing lack of mastering of reading, writing and mathematics literacy skills. To foster effective education systems and provide quality education, experts have encouraged and established various mechanisms of accountability. We conducted participatory workshops with 556 teachers representing 102 primary schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan to investigate their understanding of teachers' roles and responsibilities in education. Teachers acknowledged their own responsibilities for student learning but also emphasized that improving the quality of education should involve providing good teaching and learning environments, child-centred pedagogy, caring relationships, parental involvement, inclusive communities, and respect for teachers…. [Direct]
(2024). What Is Inclusion? Children Perspective on Education at Primary Schools in Rural Afghanistan. Research in Comparative and International Education, v19 n4 p523-551. Inclusive education remains a distant goal in Afghanistan threatened by issues of discrimination based on gender, disability, ethnicity, cultural beliefs and socioeconomic status. To promote more inclusive practices, we conducted 120 participatory workshops in three rounds, including 1187 volunteer children aged 9 to 12 years old from grades three, four and five in 40 primary rural schools of Badakhshan, Ghazni and Takhar provinces of Afghanistan between 2018 and 2021. Children described inclusion as the combination of allowing all children to access school and to effectively learn. Children were able to meaningfully define the state of education while articulating coherently what motivates them, their teachers, and parents and what actions need to be taken to improve the whole school system. In a political context limiting girls' education, children voiced their need for a school environment that is enriching, supportive and adapted to their needs and expectations to keep motivated… [Direct]
(2022). Embedding Social and Emotional Learning in Literacy and Teacher Training in Afghanistan. Journal on Education in Emergencies, v8 n1 p262-277 Mar. This field note contributes to understanding of the challenges in and opportunities for supporting social and emotional learning (SEL) in the education in emergencies context, with a particular focus on embedding social and emotional skills into literacy learning in the early grades of primary school. In Afghanistan, the current reality is that many children and their teachers have been exposed repeatedly to adversity and highly stressful situations, such as attacks on their schools. Research shows that exposure to crises affects learning and the wellbeing of students and teachers alike. In this article, we describe how SEL was embedded in the early grade literacy curriculum and teacher training in Afghanistan, and in education support systems and practices. We further elaborate on the challenges faced and lessons learned throughout this process. The experience of integrating SEL into an early grade literacy curriculum has been positive, and initial feedback on the approach suggests… [Direct]
(2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on Technologically Disadvantaged Students in Afghanistan. Online Submission, Unnes Science Education Journal v10 n2 p59-68. COVID-19 has forced educators, institutions, and their staff to switch from physical to remote education This study investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the international education system, particularly in Afghanistan. Specifically, this paper explores how students in Afghanistan have been affected by the pandemic, and identifies and evaluates the challenges faced by the education system of Afghanistan due to the pandemic. Moreover, factors affecting the use of technology by students in Afghanistan are also analyzed. A quantitative research methodology was utilized by collecting responses from students through a questionnaire distributed online. All data collected were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. Results revealed that technology has not benefited students very much, and the effects of COVID-19 have been extreme on them. Furthermore, insufficient time to learn new technologies has proven to be challenging for students. Developing technology… [PDF]
(2022). Teaching Technical Words for Medical Purposes in Afghanistan. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, v14 n3 p1952-1962. Over the last decades researches have been conducted on different disciplines and in teaching English for specific purposes in different contexts, but teaching technical words for doctors in the context of Afghanistan is the newest subject. The aim of this article is to explore the needs of doctors and prepare them a course to learn English. In Afghanistan, English is used as a foreign language and it is not the medium of instruction in the class because the national languages play the key role in instruction. It is really important for the doctors to learn English in order to learn new information and should be aware about progress, especially in medical. At the same time, most of the names of drugs have been written based on English and it is necessary for them to know English in their own discipline. This paper is written based on quantitative research and Questionnaire was the tool for data collection and it was sent to doctors who were in Afghanistan, particularly. In this… [PDF]
(2023). High School English Textbooks Promote Gender Inequality in Afghanistan. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v31 n3 p403-418. Instructional materials are one of the areas in which gender inequality is very easily institutionalised. The study investigated gender representation in high school English textbooks in Afghanistan. High school English textbooks were used as the corpus of the study. A mixed content analysis approach was used to analyse the data. The frequency of items for each category was counted and tabulated. The findings showed that women were substantially underrepresented whereas men were significantly overrepresented in text and illustrations. Male characters were placed before female characters in all coordinated phrases, and none of the dialogues was initiated by female characters. Women were portrayed in a limited number of social roles while men occupied a wide range of them. Moreover, masculine generic forms were widely used to refer to both women and men. Thus, it is concluded that high school English textbooks promote and perpetuate gender inequality in Afghanistan…. [Direct]
(2024). 'Jihad Literacy': The Legacy of Us-Sponsored Textbooks for Afghan Children. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v45 n2 p274-290. This paper uses critical discourse analysis and critical literacy to analyze the first in a series of literacy primers developed with US support for children in Afghanistan in the 1980s, called 'Jihad literacy'. The text is analyzed for its ideological content as related to the themes of religion, violence, and martyrdom in the historical perspective of the Cold War and the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The paper demonstrates how the notion of 'Jihad' was subverted to promote a holy war against the Soviet invasion. The educational system supported by the US created a radical version of Islam based on violence and martyrdom, shaping the Afghan society to this day. We contend that the same or similar institutions shape current discourses as in the past and that children are the main victims of politico-economic warfare…. [Direct]
(2024). Faculty Research Productivity at Select Higher Education Institutions in Afghanistan. Cogent Education, v11 n1 Article 2384241. The study examined faculty's research productivity, their perceptions of influence of factors and policy directives on their research productivity. It also examined the correlation between faculty's gender, level of education, years of teaching experience and their research productivity. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 162 faculty members at four public higher education institutions (HEIs). Descriptive and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that faculty's research productivity was significantly low. For instance, 76% of the participants reported publishing 468 articles in national journals while 71% of them reported publishing 253 works in international journals since they started working as faculty. Around 82% of the participants did not publish any articles in international journals indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, or PubMed. Furthermore, 54% of the participants did not publish any articles in international journals over… [Direct]
(2022). Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Rural Afghanistan: Findings from a Baseline Learning Assessment of Accelerated Learning Centres. UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti In Afghanistan, 93% of children cannot read a simple text by the age of 10. Education is not available to everyone, especially for girls and children in remote areas. A form of community-based education, called Accelerated Learning Centers (ALCs), can help close the distance barrier and meet the needs of out-of-school children and girls. In May 2021, an assessment of foundational literacy and numeracy skills of ALC students and nearby government school students was conducted. Results show that children at ALCs are learning at similar levels or better compared with children who attend government schools. This report provides insight into practices to improve education in rural areas in Afghanistan…. [PDF]
(2023). Gender Voices in Afghanistan Primary and Secondary School English Textbooks. Curriculum Journal, v34 n2 p208-230 Jun. Textbooks are one of the areas in which gender inequality is institutionalized effortlessly. The study investigated the representation of gender in primary and secondary English textbooks. A total of 14 categories of underrepresentation and misrepresentation were used to examine gender portrayal. The results show that women are significantly underrepresented whilst men are overrepresented in text and illustrations. Female names account for only 30.4% of names in textbooks. Male characters precede female characters in most coordinated phrases, and most of the dialogues are initiated by men. Masculine generic forms are used to refer to women and men including in the English translation of the Afghanistan National Anthem. Men are more frequently portrayed in a myriad of social roles than women are. Surprisingly, this pattern also holds true for domestic roles. Furthermore, little space is dedicated to female famous persons (e.g., scientists), and women constitute a tiny fraction of the… [Direct]